


A Serious Accusation

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-28
Updated: 2015-09-28
Packaged: 2018-04-23 19:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4889917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone anonymous has sent very compromising photos of Blair to both Rainier and the PD.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Serious Accusation

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Sentinel Thursday for the prompt guilty/innocent
> 
> This story is set some time after Murder 101. However, TSbyBS hasn't happened. It assumes that Naomi hasn't sent the diss to Sid, and won't.
> 
> There are references to possible pedophilia.

A Serious Accusation

by Bluewolf

The door to the Police Commissioner's secretary's office stood open; when Simon Banks reached it, he accepted the tacit invitation and walked straight in.

Moira Lewis looked up as he reached her desk. "Ah, Captain Banks," she said, and smiled. "You're a few minutes early - but I think Commissioner Karachan will see you straight away." She picked up a white phone and pressed a button on it. "Captain Banks is here, sir... Yes, sir."

She put down the phone and nodded to the door in the wall at right angles to the corridor, that was beside the one through which he had just entered. "Go straight through, Captain."

Simon nodded. "Thanks." He gave a brisk knock on the door and opened it.

"Ah, Banks," Karachan said. The man sitting in a chair facing Karachan, his back to the door, looked around, and Simon saw it was Chief of Police Warren.

"Commissioner. Chief," he said as he walked in and closed the door.

He was puzzled, but not worried, by the expression on both their faces.

"Sit," Karachan invited, indicating the second chair that sat facing his desk. Then he pushed a thin folder towards Simon. "I would like to hear your thoughts on these photos."

Simon looked at him, puzzled, opened the folder... and drew his breath in sharply when he saw the top photograph.

He moved it aside and looked at the next one... and the next.

Ten photos in all... Eight showed Major Crime's observer in a very compromising position with girls who were very clearly underage; the remaining two showed Blair in an equally compromising position with fairly young boys.

Simon raised his head. "Where did these come from?" he asked as he pushed them into a single pile.

"They were sent to me - anonymously - this morning. The covering letter simply said, 'How do you justify keeping a pervert like this attached to the police department?'

"I have to tell you that my first - and continuing - reaction was disbelief; I know how much help Sandburg has been to Major Crime. But since the accusation has been made - and with photographic proof... "

"I simply don't believe it, sir," Simon said. "You can't just believe he's guilty on the say-so of some pictures - you know how photos can be manipulated these days." He peered closely at the top picture.

"Goodness knows I'd give a lot for him to be proved innocent," Karachan said, and Warren nodded his agreement. "As I said, I know how much he's done... But I'm afraid that Vice is going to have to investigate this, and while they're doing it, I have to tell you to pull his observer's pass."

"Ellison isn't going to like that."

"I know, but my hands are tied. This is a serious accusation. I _will_ get the photographs checked by experts - "

"I would expect no less, sir."

"That is what Chief Warren and I were discussing before you arrived. Unfortunately, since they arrived anonymously, they could have been faked by an expert. That would make the manipulation very hard to detect."

"The mystery is why anyone would want to discredit Sandburg," Warren said. "He's been nothing but an asset since he arrived."

"We could be looking at this the wrong way," Simon said slowly. "It could be someone at Rainier looking to discredit him. I would guess that a set of those photographs has also been sent to Rainier."

"But why?" Warren repeated.

Simon rubbed his chin. "I can think of one or two cases we dealt with that involved Rainier. The most recent concerned a Brad Ventriss. Sandburg accused him of cheating, handing in as his own work a paper written by someone else he had blackmailed into doing it; but then he and Ellison proved that Ventriss had been stealing from his father's business and killed the private detective investigating the theft. All right, he's now serving a life sentence, but he could very well have friends who would be willing to see him get revenge against the man who accused him of cheating... which would indirectly be revenge against Sandburg's cop partner for arresting him."

After speaking with the senior officers for a few more minutes, Simon headed back to Major Crime, not sure just what he would tell Jim. He had with him one of the pictures - he was quietly certain that Jim would be able to detect the manipulation, though he knew that Jim's unsupported word would not be enough to clear his partner; if only because Sandburg _was_ his partner. Though he also knew that nobody would believe that Jim could tell, just by looking at the picture, just where the manipulation fitted. Well, his fellow detectives in MC would believe it... They didn't officially know about Jim's abilities, but the 'inner circle' had a pretty fair idea.

He arrived back at Major Crime to find that Blair was already there, standing leaning against Jim's desk, looking totally distraught; Jim was looking angry, while at the same time he seemed to be trying to comfort Blair - and the other detectives present...

Simon frowned. With one exception, the other detectives present were showing a mixture of anger, disbelief and concern. The exception...

Well, Dwight Carswell was new to Major Crime, Simon thought charitably; he didn't actually know Sandburg. But at the same time, there was something... something _off_ about the man's reaction. Something almost... gleeful?

Simon walked over to Jim's desk. "Can I see you two for a minute." Though worded as one, it was definitely not a question. They followed him into his office.

Simon put the envelope with the photo onto the desk. "I'd guess you know what's in there?"

Blair looked at it, then at Simon, his expression a mixture of fear and horror. "Simon, that isn't me."

"You think I don't know that? That nobody out there, with one possible exception, thinks that? And the exception is only because he doesn't know you."

"But?"

"This - and several more like it - were sent to Commissioner Karachan this morning. Rainier got a set too?"

"Yes... I've been kicked out. I suppose I'm out of here too?"

"Karachan is really sorry about it. He doesn't believe it. Warren doesn't. I don't. But until it's cleared up, I'm sorry, but I have to pull your pass."

"So what happens next?" Jim demanded.

"It'll have to be sent to Vice to be checked out."

"Oh, goddess," Blair muttered.

"After Karachan sends the pictures to be checked by an expert. Apart from this one - " He indicated the envelope. "This one, I want Jim to check."

"No," Blair whispered. "Bad enough that you've seen them... I don't want Jim to see - "

"Blair, it's not you in those pictures," Jim said. "You think we don't know that? You think we don't realize they're manipulations?"

Blair drew a long, sobbing breath. "They're really well done," he managed.

"Yes, they are," Simon agreed. "Jim might be able to see the joins, he might not. But the guy Karachan knows... checking photos for manipulation is his job. According to Karachan, he's got equipment and programs that could prove a freshly printed dollar bill was fake, if someone had sneaked back into the official building during the night and used the official plates to print off a few extra for his own benefit. And yes, okay, I know that has to be an exaggeration, but it shows how much on your side Karachan is, Sandburg." He pulled the photo from the envelope and gave it to Jim. "Don't worry about fingerprints," he went on. "The first thing Karachan did when he saw what was there was get them checked."

"Nothing?" Jim asked.

"Nothing. Whoever sent them used gloves."

Jim studied the photo carefully, then focused on the neck area of the man in the picture. After some seconds, he said, "I don't think an expert will have any difficulty in proving that these are manipulations. Wherever the person who did it got the photos of Blair's head - I assume they're all slightly different?"

Simon nodded.

"It's definitely been used to replace whoever was in the original picture. I can't see any other joins, so I assume someone really was abusing the girl - was it the same one in all the photos?"

"No, and two were boys," Simon said grimly.

"So we have a perp who knows where to get photos of underage kids being used for sex," Jim said grimly.

"Easy enough done if you have a computer," Blair said quietly. The others looked at him. "I caught a student downloading some adult porn a few days ago. Gave him a warning, told him I'd be keeping an eye on him... and how he'll react when word of this accusation gets around... " He indicated the photo.

"If - when - we catch whoever is responsible, we'll make very sure it gets a lot of publicity," Simon promised.

Blair smiled weakly.

"But now... I'm sorry, Sandburg, really sorry, but I need your pass."

Blair nodded unhappily and handed it over. "I'd better head off home."

"I'll come with you," Jim said, glancing at Simon, who nodded. He watched as they left his office, picked up their jackets, and walked out of the bullpen.

Simon glared around at the other detectives. "Why am I seeing people not working?" he demanded.

Joel crossed to him as everyone else hastily returned to their desks. "What happens now?" he asked softly as he followed Simon back into the office.

"Jim is sure the pictures are manipulations," he said, "and the Commissioner is sending them to a friend who's an expert in the field. Once they're proved to be a false accusation we have to find out who it was."

"Not so easy," Joel muttered. "Is it an attempt to discredit Blair, Major Crime or the PD in general?"

"I'd say Blair, since the pictures were sent to Rainier as well."

"But why?"

"In a way, my bet is on that student Ventriss," Simon said.

"It's possible," Joel agreed. "But... "

"But?"

"Didn't you notice one guy out there who wasn't in tune with everyone else?"

"Carswell. But he's new, doesn't know Sandburg - "

"Simon, who in the PD doesn't know Sandburg?"

"I know he's well-liked, and people won't automatically believe - "

"Most won't, but there are one or two who think 'he's not a cop' and would like to see him kicked out - and you know it, or you wouldn't have let Jim go off this early so he could go with Blair. Ninety days as an observer is one thing, what looks like becoming ninety months is something else."

"Joel, Jim needs him."

"You think I don't know that, Simon? Whatever it is that makes Jim so good, a lot of it is due to Blair. And as well as that, he's helped all of us... "

"And the top brass knows it, Joel. None of them believe it, but with the 'evidence' of those pictures, we had to pull his credentials, at least temporarily."

"Oh, I realize that. But let's get back to that one guy here - "

"He seems to be getting on all right. Not too happy about being partnered with Connor - "

"And positively gloating over Blair being 'disgraced'."

Simon stared at Joel. "You aren't saying... "

"No, not outright. But Simon - he came here from Vice. Which unit is the most likely to know how to get hold of pedophile porn?"

There was a quiet, almost apologetic knock on the door. Simon glanced at Joel then said loudly, "Come!"

The man who entered was Dwight Carswell.

"Yes, Carswell?" Simon said, trying for an encouraging tone.

"Captain, I... I haven't made any great secret of not liking to work with Connor. I suppose in a way it's sexist, but I really don't think women should be in the police force."

"There are some crimes where a woman is the best person to speak to a victim, just as it's best for a women officer to be present any time a woman is arrested. With a woman officer present it's harder for a female criminal to get away with an accusation that the arresting officer has been sexually abusive. You can't deny that could happen."

Carswell looked slightly taken aback. "Well... I suppose... But I still don't like working with a woman. So I was wondering... with what's being said now about Sandburg... and he was a mere observer, keeping Detective Ellison from having a proper partner... Detective Ellison is very good, but how much of his time is wasted babysitting a civilian? How much better would he be with a proper partner? So I was wondering... Is there any chance that I could be assigned to work with Ellison rather than Connor?"

Simon looked thoughtfully at him. "Have you checked our statistics over the last four years? That is, since Sandburg came on board? Ellison's success rate went up by fully ten percent; everyone else's by five to six percent and that was all due to Sandburg's input."

Carswell's jaw dropped. "Are you... Captain, are you saying that little wannabe cop is... is... "

"Has what it takes to be a detective? Yes, Carswell, that's exactly what I'm saying. Once he finishes his dissertation and gets his PhD, we're hoping we can persuade him to join us as a consultant, rather than waste his talents in academia."

"But what about what he said about photos sent to Rainier that shows he's... well... "

"Already being checked by an expert," Simon told him.

"Oh."

"In any case," Simon continued, "Ellison won't work with anyone else, except maybe Captain Taggert here. If Sandburg isn't proved innocent, Ellison will go back to working alone."

"So you know what that means? You've wasted your time doctoring those photos to make Sandburg look bad," Joel said.

Carswell swung around. "What? How do you... " He broke off.

"You looked too happy about it all," Joel said. "Captain Banks, if you'll keep him here I'll go and check his computer. The pictures are probably still on it. Maybe even a few more, to send in if this lot didn't work to discredit Sandburg."

***

Joel was right. When he got into Carswell's computer he found ample proof that Carswell was the one who had doctored the pictures; the originals were there, several photos of Blair bending over something on Jim's desk, some half-doctored pictures where the joins were easy to see as well as several finished ones. He called Rafe and Brown over, and showed them the evidence.

Next he went to Rhonda. "Can you contact Chief Warren and ask him to come down here - in connection with a certain picture that he knows about."

She stared at him for a moment. "The pictures that were sent to Rainier?"

"Yes." He crossed to Simon's office and opened the door. "Got them." He stayed at the door, his attention on Carswell, as Simon went over to the man's desk. He had just reached it when the bullpen door swung open and Warren rushed in, closely followed by Karachan.

"Connor, you go and keep an eye on your partner," Simon ordered, "and let Taggert come back here."

Joel showed the photos to his superiors. Karachan said grimly, "Who?"

"Detective Carswell," Simon said. "A recent transfer from Vice. He's been partnered with Inspector Connor, and after this - " he indicated the computer - "broke, he came and asked me if he could be assigned to work with Detective Ellison."

"If he'd had the intelligence to wait a day or two, we mightn't have smelled a rat," Joel said. "As it was... He looked too happy about Blair being upset, and going to see Captain Banks the way he did, almost as soon as Jim and Blair left the bullpen - "

"Where is he?" Karachan asked.

"In my office," Simon replied.

Karachan swung around, and marched over to it...

***

The first thing Karachan did after dealing with Carswell was phone Rainier and tell the authorities there that Blair had been framed by a jealous detective - and that they had irrefutable proof. Next he phoned the loft to let Jim and Blair know - only this time he named the detective in question - and that he had notified Rainier. He made it clear that Blair would be welcomed back with open arms.

Not that Blair had really doubted that; he had understood the position the top brass had been in. He had understood the position the Rainier brass had been in, too; he had just been totally upset that anyone would accuse him of pedophilia - he had always been very careful not to get involved with a student, and most of them, while young, were legal - though the possibility of the 'he said he would give me a good grade if I slept with him' accusation was ever present in the minds of the male staff. And knowing that it was someone who wanted to partner Jim, and hoped that with him out of the way he'd get what he wanted... That was upsetting, too.

Jim went in to work the next day, hoping that he wouldn't meet Carswell - he wasn't sure that he would be able to control his temper if he did. Luckily there was no sign of the man.

Simon kept Jim at his desk, doing what Jim recognized was busy work, but for once the sentinel didn't mind; he was too busy wondering how Blair was getting on at Rainier.

Part way through the day, Simon went over to Jim's desk and put Blair's observer's pass down on it. "Give this to the kid."

"Thanks, Simon. Er... what happened about Carswell?"

"Karachan made it very clear to him that there was no position in Cascade PD for him after what he did, though he did agree that if Carswell tried to join a different police force they would send a reference based on his work in Vice - which was competent enough, though not brilliant. Carswell was given severance pay and was out of here before the end of his shift."

"Good," Jim said. "I'm not sure I wouldn't have broken his neck if I'd met him in the corridor today."

"It wouldn't have helped the kid if you'd done that," Simon pointed out. "How is he today, anyway?"

"Gone in to Rainier. He wanted a word with the Dean and the Chancellor."

***

"So the police discovered who was responsible for those pictures?" Dean Tolmie said, rather than asked. "And why?"

"The guy responsible gave as his reason that he thought the cop I've been riding with to collect much of the material for my dissertation was being blocked from having a proper detective partner by my presence; he wanted rid of me in the hope he would be assigned as that partner. I think, though, it was more likely he wanted to be partnered with Major Crime's most successful detective so that some of that glory would rub off onto him."

"And you were in his way."

"Well, he thought I was. What I don't understand, though, was why he acted to destroy my reputation here as well. There was no reason for that."

"No, there wasn't," Tolmie agreed. "But while we didn't believe it of you, we couldn't just ignore it. The police commissioner, though, said there was irrefutable proof of your innocence."

"The guy was pretty good at photo manipulation, but not so good that it was difficult for someone who knew what he was looking for to identify the joins. But he was careless, and left everything, including the original photos, the manipulations he sent out and some partly done ones on his computer at the PD. I don't intend to press charges, but I suspect he'll leave Cascade pretty soon."

"You do understand we had to be seen to be taking action?"

"Yes, I understood."

"We can reinstate you immediately," Tolmie went on.

"Well, I've been thinking about that," Blair said slowly. "I think it might be best if you just left my classes with whoever they were transferred to yesterday. That will give me time to concentrate on getting my dissertation finished - it shouldn't take more than a few days if I concentrate totally on it."

"If you're happy with that, I don't see a problem," Tolmie agreed.

"But then I want to do some traveling while I consider my future."

He was quite surprised when Chancellor Edwards said she hoped he would decide to apply to Rainier for a lecturing position. "And if you did, you would get it, but we have to go through the application process.

"I know you and I haven't always seen eye to eye," she admitted, "but your classes always did well." She glanced at the Dean, then went on, "The Ventriss case - I really am sorry about that. Actually you weren't the only TA to complain that Brad Ventriss was cheating, you were just the most persistent. You were right. I should have been thinking about academic standards. But I wasn't able to see past the gymnasium his father was giving to Rainier."

"I'm sorry Rainier will lose that," Blair said. He was silent for a moment, then went on, "I'll bear the possibility of a lecturing position in mind but, seriously, the Ventriss thing has left me very disillusioned about teaching as a career."

"Don't let one rotten apple discourage you," Tolmie said quietly. "Your detective friends aren't letting the actions of one jealous detective discourage them, are they?"

"No, but none of them was the target," Blair said.

"Will you be coming back to Cascade?" Edwards asked, with a perception that surprised Blair..

"Probably," he said.

"Then even if you don't accept our offer of a permanent position, would you at least consider doing a few guest lectures?"

Tolmie nodded his agreement. "Seriously, we wouldn't want to lose you completely."

"My decision to take some time off doesn't owe anything to what just happened," Blair said. "After Ventriss, I was considering it anyway, but I wanted to submit my dissertation first."

"A few days, you said?"

"Two weeks at most, probably less. Basically it's finished; I just need to check it through, tidy it up."

"We look forward to seeing it," Tolmie said.

***

Blair was home first, and had dinner ready by the time Jim arrived home.

By mutual consent, they said nothing about the day until they'd finished eating and washed up.

"So," Jim said as they settled in front of the TV. He clicked onto the sports channel, which was showing a replay of the last Jags game. _Good,_ he thought. _We can watch but not get caught up in it; we know the Jags won._ "How did your day go?"

"Surprisingly well," Blair said. "I expected Edwards to be hostile, and she wasn't. They'd given my classes to other TAs, so I told them not to make the switch back; I told them I wanted to spend the next couple of weeks concentrating on finishing the diss - and it's the thin blue line one, not the sentinel one."

"You're not calling it that, I hope?"

Blair grinned. "No, though I was tempted. Actually I haven't decided on a title yet, though 'protectors' will be part of it. It's about people who protect their communities, so I leaned a little on Burton's sentinels as an introduction and made references to historical law enforcement before moving on to the world of today and the work of today's police. It's pretty well finished and if I can get an uninterrupted week to tidy it up, it'll be ready to submit."

"As to that - " Jim took out his wallet, opened it and handed Blair his observer's badge. "You can come in any time you want."

Blair took it almost reverently. His voice quivered just a little as he said, "Thank Simon for me. I'll give it a miss though, unless something crops up where you really need me, because I do want to get the diss finished. The quicker it's finished and defended, the better, now."

"Have you thought what you want to do, once you're Dr. Sandburg?"

"Edwards said she hoped I'd apply for a job at Rainier - that I'd have to apply, but that I'd definitely get one. And Dean Tolmie was there, so the offer has to be legit. And if I didn't want to work at Rainier, but was living in Cascade - that I could maybe do some guest talks. As I said - she was surprisingly friendly."

"So will you apply for a job there?"

"I don't know. You'll still need me as your guide... won't you?"

"Always."

Blair was silent for some moments, then he said, "You've got a lot of vacation time due, don't you."

"Yes."

"Think Simon would let you have it all at once?"

"What's in your mind, Chief?"

"A bit of traveling... just you and me, relaxing, unwinding... "

"Can you afford to?"

"Jim, how do you think Naomi manages all the traveling about that she does? My grandparents - her parents - were very wealthy. When my grandfather died... His money was split so that Naomi and her brother, the uncle who drove big rigs, each got a third, and my cousin Robert and I split the remaining third. That sixth of his money... Let's just say I could have chosen to live off it all my life and still not be able to spend all of it unless I was totally irresponsible.

"But that's not my style; I chose to go to Rainier, and work - I've never touched what I inherited, but it's there if I want to use it. I'll probably buy a decent car once I get the PhD - I like the Volvo, so it could very well be another one. But I won't change cars every year or two just because a new model has come out. That's a total waste of money.

"My uncle chose to work. Though he used some of his share to set up a transport firm, he employed a manager to run it; he worked as one of the drivers. Robert... well, you know about Robert. Working as a bookie he's practically doubled what he inherited. And Naomi chose to travel. She doesn't waste money, she lives off the interest. If she finds someplace she feels needs help, she'll give it, but not to the point of embarrassing the recipients. A small village that could do with a water supply so that the women and children don't spend hours each day carrying water - she'll pay to get one installed. That's a benefit to the entire village although her real reason is to repay whatever family has taken her in and shared what little they have with her.

"So yes, I can afford to... and pay your expenses too, Jim. You've been incredibly generous to me - "

"You've always paid your way, Chief."

"But you can't deny I let you think I only had what I earned as a TA."

Jim grinned. "Let's just say I suspected you had more money than you let on. Naomi, too. No way could she have traveled around the way she does unless she had money. No, Chief - we'll take that trip, and we'll share the cost. You're not the only one who's been keeping secrets - I've got more money than I ever let you know - a trust fund from my grandfather that I've barely touched.

"So I tell you what - let's take a year. Indulge ourselves. See the world. Decide what you want to do."

"Decide what _we_ want to do," Blair said, "because whatever happens, I'm your guide."

"There's one other possibility," Jim said.

"Yes?"

"Forget about just a year. We form an anthropology unit of two, and go in search of tribal sentinels. And then you write a follow-up to Burton - 'Tribal Sentinels of the World'."

Blair grinned. "Now that's a possibility... Tell you what. We'll make it a year to start with. Just the two of us. If it looks as if it's working... we add one or two people - Eli Stoddard, for example, I'm sure he'd love to be involved - and carry on indefinitely."

"We could start with the Chopek," Jim said, "and carry on from there... "

"Searching the Amazon and its tributaries... Jim, that alone would take more than a year! There are dozens of small tribes - and some fairly big ones - along the Amazon alone, and some of the tributaries are pretty big rivers in their own right. And we'd need to spend time with each tribe before they would trust us enough to tell us about their sentinels, if they had any... even the ones who've had a fair exposure to white men."

"So we take more than a year. We take as long as it takes." Jim chuckled. "And we have an advantage denied to most groups - one of us is a sentinel.

"You know, in a way we owe Carswell; we wouldn't have thought of this if he hadn't tried to get rid of you. But even if he knocked at the door right now and tried to apologize, I wouldn't tell him that.

"So you get busy - finish your dissertation, and present it. Meanwhile I'll hand in my resignation - "

"You're sure you want to be that final?"

"I'm sure," Jim said.

They grinned at each other, and settled back to watch the end of the Jags game.


End file.
